Barely Breathing - Chapter 17
Chapter 17 - Despair Kissing Our Lips
JUNE 21th, 2009 Newark, New Jersey : 10:14 AM
I woke to the sound of an engine and guitar strumming. It was an odd yet comforting combination. Having those sounds in the background assured me I was on the HIM tour bus and not Bam’s for the day.
After a few minutes to let my brain turn on, I remembered falling asleep talking to Ville on the way north last night. He must have carried me to a bunk because I was surrounded by darkness. Sitting up slowly, I rubbed my eyes and stretched my legs. There was no doubt I was in Ville’s bunk. It smelled like him, cigarettes and spicy cologne. The fact that when I got out and it was pretty far from the floor let me know, too. There weren’t many people tall enough to climb into this bunk comfortably.
Grabbing the bundle of clothes I had set at the head of the bunk the night before, I made my way to the small bathroom that was off of the bunk area. I could hear the guys out toward the front of the bus, talking. The door shut behind me with a click, blocking out their voices. With proper lighting I could see my smudged makeup and messy hair; good for me, I knew where Ville kept his makeup. Washing my face and brushing my hair came first, I hated feeling grody. Next, I separated the bundle of clothes I had brought over; a white summer dress, a black and white plaid under-bust vest, and my favorite black floral thigh-highs. Not too fancy, but it still made me look nice in case Ville’s surprise was nicer than going to bookstore or something. In the front I had my wedge ribbon sandals that completed the outfit. My final touch was using Ville’s eyeliner to highlight the slant at the corner of my eyes. I had lip gloss and emergency mascara in my purse.
Finally done, I exited the bathroom and headed to front to meet the guys. They were all sitting around doing their own thing. Burton and Mige sat eating at the breakfast booth. Gas was watching some movie on the flat screen in front, and Linde was playing guitar softly next to him. Ville was in a chair close to the doorway I stood in. He was reading a book with a cup of coffee in his free hand. Feeling my presence behind him he looked up.
“Well, good morning, darling. How did you sleep?” His voice was soft, not to draw attention.
I moved toward the chair next to him as I spoke. “Fine, but I can’t help wondering where you slept, since I was in you bunk.”
“Actually, sweetheart, we both fell asleep in the back area last night, and when everyone else started making noise, this morning, I moved you to the bunk area.” He set his coffee in the armrest cup holder, and then placed a bookmark in his book.
I nodded my head in understanding. “So, where are we right now?”
“New Jersey, we stopped for the night and now we’re heading over to where your surprise is,” he said as he swiveled his chair to me.
“Will you tell me what it is, now?” I whined.
“Just wait for thirty minutes, like a good girl, and you’ll find out.”
Well, a half hour later we were in front of an unremarkable, grey building in some downtown New Jersey city. Don’t get me wrong, millions of possibilities had run through my mind about what my surprise could possibly be. New Jersey was home to some great bands, so that was possible or maybe it was some indie designer or artist. With Ville, it could be anything or anybody.
As soon as we exited the bus, it pulled away.
“Where is it going?” I asked as the bus pulled back into traffic.
“The others chose to spend time doing other things for the day.” He shrugged his shoulders as he walked forward. “It was my request to take a detour, after all.” He set his hand on my back to steer me toward the door faster.
The inside of the building was far more detailed and extravagant then the grey exterior. On the walls were framed band posters and golden records, all of which were signed. So, this plush building was some type of record label or studio. In front of the back wall, about twenty feet away from us, was a woman at a large reception deck.
“Hello, sir. What can I do for you today?” She asked as Ville stepped up, obviously ignoring my existence; the sad fate of women who stand next to good looking men.
“We’re here to meet some friends of mine. They should have left two visitor passes under the name Ville Valo.” He told her politely. When he said ‘two’ she was forced to acknowledge me, and it was not pretty. If she had the ability to kill me with her eyes, I would have been a pile of internal organs from the stare she was bestowing on me.
“Of course, I see your name right at the top of the list. They left instructions for you to go to fourth floor and then to the second door on the right. Have a good day.” The way she said it almost made me growl, even though I have no idea why. Maybe it was just me, but when you see a guy with a girl, one should assume that flirting with him is a little tacky. As she was handing over the little clip on badges she made sure to brush her hand with Ville’s, ultra tacky.
“Thank you,” he replied tightly, before clipping my pass to the bottom of my vest and taking my hand to lead me the other way. I knew we weren’t together or anything, but that small, childish side of me was glad to see the look of disgruntled envy on the receptionist face.
As we were waiting for the elevator, out of her hearing range, I felt Ville squeeze my hand. “Don’t worry about that, I hate to say that wasn’t typical behavior when I have friends with me, but it is.”
“No, I get it. You’re famous, and good looking. She was going to give me that stare off whether or not you wanted to prevent it.”
His lips turned into a frown as the doors dinged open and he walked into the elevator. “If you say so, but I prefer people didn’t treat you like that; especially, not because I’m with you.”
Ville always knew what to say, suave Finnish gentleman that he was. As we entered the small metal space I noticed that he didn’t let go of my hand. I couldn’t tell whether it was consciously done or just him forgetting to release it. Either way it was comforting and I wasn’t going to stop him anytime soon.
The elevator arrived at our floor relatively fast, revealing a hallway carpeted in dark blue with grey walls, posh. The second door we were supposed to go through was open and the sound of guitars and male laughter could be heard.
Trying my best not to be antsy, I slowly trailed behind Ville. Suddenly the idea of meeting famous strangers was utterly terrifying. What was so great about that type of surprise? Would I make it into the room and vomit from anxiety? What was I asking myself pointless questions for?
I got all of two seconds before Ville was stepping into the room and saying hellos. The sight that met my eyes was overwhelming and sweet all at once.
Sitting in front of me was My Chemical Romance; in the flesh.
The fan-girl in me was ready to pounce, but somehow my sane mind managed to stay in control. After the men had stopped saying hi to each other, attention was turned to me and I was back to the quiet panic. I was slightly behind Ville, with my left side mostly in view of the band who sat around the room. Ville was having none of that; he pushed on the small of my back to bring me to his front.
“Guys, this is Olivia, she is the girl I mentioned when I called.” Ville seemed to sound proud, of what I have no idea.
“Hello,” I mumbled, not sure what exactly to say. ‘I’m your biggest fan?’ Now that was just stupid. ‘Your music got me through adolescence?’ No, not right, I was still technically an adolescent. ‘Hello’, would just have to do.
Let’s just cut to the chase and say the next ten minutes were the most awkward of my life. I had no idea what to say to the band that had been so inspirational for me growing up, but they sure knew how to act nonchalant. It took quite a bit of Ville being some kind of intermediary before I began to loosen up and talk for myself. Once we were to that stage it was like having old friends. Frank and Gerard loved to talk and Ville wasn’t one to sit and just listen either. They asked me all sorts of questions and told really funny stories as everyone was catching up with Ville and getting to know me.
For all my worrying, it went great; one of those moments that I would be ecstatic about for quite a while. As I got to know my heroes, for lack of a better term, we had lunch and they did a short practice of a few of the new songs they had been working on. This had to be the best surprise ever.
Around three o’clock that afternoon Ville started to wind down the conversation and talk about seeing them again sometime. That was the hint to leave if I ever saw one. As I was saying goodbyes I got a hug from all of the guys once Gerard started the trend. Best day ever!
We walked to the elevator and rode down. I was as happy as a clam, I even smiled at that stupid receptionist as we handed back our visitor’s passes. “So… I believe that was the best surprise anyone has ever given me!”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He was chuckling to himself as we walked outside; apparently my childlike giddiness amused him.
The bus was already pulled up to the curb as we walked out the doors. I was expecting a wait or something, but this was definitely okay, too.
“How did you know the bus would be out here?”
“I asked them to get here by three to pick us up and it is now three fifteen. Our driver is very big on punctuality,” he explained like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Let’s go see Bam-Bam, I bet he feels lost without me.” I laughed at Ville as we stepped back up into the bus. He knew Bam so well.
A/N: I would like to take a moment to thank everyone that has commented on and continued to read this story for the last few months:
livejournal- mariana-lico, purplexparadise, have_666_mercy, ravenroses666, crazyatine, jenniferadkins3, vhvhim, ville_lovve, meduusje, zwefanie, bubblewrap_x3, gonewiththecin, bndgk666, and cherimorton.
mibba- abnurmel, Gaby Margera, perchance2dream, venusdoom666, melanie.mayhem, Poison_Ivy, scare bear, barbarienne;;, Nikki Sixx, HeartsXStars, Trisha-ValoX69, Maheret., Hannuhhhh, CyanideCorpse, celiaeatsballz, ProjecyAlxisRose, HIM-ROCS-4eva, Raven616, xlet-itbleedx, IWillMakeYouScream, Tazmundi, amaya.-., and Dezi Demise.
Also, I know people want them to get together, heck I want them to get together. There is a reason I’m writing this at the pace I am, though. Basically the mantra ‘you can’t rush a good thing’ comes to mind. I just want this to feel natural and be more realistic in its build. Anyway… for everyone that actually reads the author’s notes please drop a little comment to let me know you want me to keep writing.
Love,
VictorianXRose XOXOXOXOXO
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